'Lazy' Joe Biden twiddling his thumbs as schedule shows no sign of activity for 13 days straight

Republicans have criticised Joe Biden, after they accused the President of having nothing on his public schedule for 13 straight.

It comes as research showed the President spent 138 days in 2023 away from Washington, roughly 37 per cent of the time.

RNC Research, a Republican ran campaign group, claimed that after spending around nine minutes on December 22 at Children's National Hospital he left for vacation at Camp David, a retreat for federal government agents and their families.

The group claims that after returning from vacation on December 26, he left for vacation in the US Virgin Islands on December 27. They said he returned from vacation late on January 2 and has not done anything since.

In 2023, Biden's home state of Delaware was a favourite spot for the president, who spent 90 days, including frequent weekends and one prolonged vacation, at either his personal residence in the Tony Wilmington suburb of Greenville or his sun-and-sand hideaway in Rehoboth.

New York Post reports the 81-year-old spent 22 days, including travel time, on official vacation in all in 2023.

That time was enjoyed at either his Delaware homes or in St Croix, Lake Tahoe or Nantucket.

Biden’s number of getaway days in 2023 was only slightly down from 2022, when he spent more than 38 per cent of that year at the same locations.

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The White House has maintained the president can work from anywhere and does not have to stay in Washington DC, to do his job.

Deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told the New York Post: "The President has taken 16 days of vacation this year, and even on those days, he has worked.

"Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Americans saw the President hold a slew of foreign head of state calls before announcing a deal to release hostages from Gaza the very next day.

"The fact is: the President works every single day of the week whether he is in Washington, Delaware, Camp David, or anywhere else — and those around him and reporters who cover him closely know that."

Dalton added: "These fictitious attacks on the President are all the more absurd coming from Republicans in Congress, who left down in December without doing their job to fund the government or our national security priorities."

Biden currently leads all recent presidents in terms of days away from Washington.

His predecessor Donald Trump visited Mar-a-Lago or a Trump property on 331 out of 1,075 days on which he was president, roughly 31 per cent of the time.

George HW Bush spent roughly 36 per cent of his presidency at a getaway spot.

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Starmer says it's 'nonsense' to suggest he would duck election TV debates

Sir Keir Starmer said it is "nonsense" to suggest he would duck TV debates with Rishi Sunak during the general election campaign.

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Speaker Mike Johnson lashes out at Biden’s border policy as illegal migrants flood in: ‘Heartbreaking and infuriating’

Republican House speaker Mike Johnson has blamed the “unmitigated disaster” at the US-Mexico border on Joe Biden.

Dubbing the scenes on the border “heartbreaking and infuriating”, Johnson said issues have only been exacerbated through Biden’s tenure.

Johnson trekked to Eagle Pass in Texas on Wednesday to learn more about the “breaking point” the US finds itself at.

It comes after it was revealed over 302,000 people crossed the border illegally in December, the highest total for a month in history.

“The situation here and across the country is truly unconscionable. We would describe it as both heartbreaking and infuriating”, he said during a press conference.

Discussing the White House’s ongoing effort to stem the tide, he said: “Madness is the only word we can think of to describe this.”

He also warned officials have “no idea how many terrorists have come into the country”.

The two parties have clashed on the matter in recent weeks with both factions claiming the other are to blame.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that Texas is to blame for the crisis, claiming Gov. Greg Abbott has not “coordinated” with other governors and state leaders.

The Republicans are demanding the administration reinstates Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy and start immediately deporting migrants who entered illegally.

House Republicans are set to return to Washington next week, and Johnson told reporters about their top priorities.

“We want to get the border closed and secured first, and we want to make sure that we reduce non-defence discretionary spending,” he said.

Congress and Joe Biden are also locked in a stalemate over Ukraine funding.

The coffers have run dry and the President is determined to secure more support for Zelensky’s war efforts.

The Republicans are keen to shift the narrative to border troubles, with the issue becoming a key battleground for the 2024 election.

“We gotta do something, they gotta give me the money I need to protect the border”, Biden said upon returning to Washington on Tuesday.

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Carol Vorderman brands Shaun Bailey 'misogynist' over 'bum and boobs' comment

Carol Vorderman has branded failed London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey "sexist" for saying she is not a "serious political commentator" due to pictures she posts on social media.

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‘He should beg for forgiveness!’ Tony Blair urged to ‘fall silent for good’ as ex-PM tipped for new role

Tony Blair should be “begging for forgiveness” instead of taking on new humanitarian roles, Peter Hitchens has fumed.

The former Prime Minister has been backed as a potential peacekeeper in the Middle East as the war between Israel and Hamas rages on.

Conservative author Peter Hitchens lambasted such an idea during a discussion on GB News’ Dewbs & Co, where he said Blair’s history with conflict should be enough reason to dissuade any potential suitors.

Speaking to Michelle Dewberry, he urged the former Prime Minister to “stay silent forever”.

“He should be entering a Trappist monastery where he vows never to say another word again for the rest of his life and spends the rest of his time begging for forgiveness”, he said.

“I don’t see how somebody who made such a mess of his main foreign policy adventure should be taken seriously ever again, or should be asked for his advice or should be treated as an important player in any of these matters.

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“Time for him to fall silent for good.

“The Middle East is littered with corpses and columns of refugees still walk across it thanks to the war that he and George W Bush created.

“There is nothing further for him to be said by him or about him. He did a terrible thing and he should be sorry for it.

“He should be sorry for it somewhere else and in silence. The same goes for his propaganda chief Alastair Campbell.”

It comes after reports that Tony Blair would be “open” to a humanitarian role in Gaza, something his institute has since denied.

Reports in Israel claimed that the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sounding out Blair for the role of “humanitarian co-ordinator” in Gaza.

He has previously worked as international envoy to the Middle East.

Speaking on the possibility of a role, a spokeswoman for Blair said: “As you know, Mr Blair has an office in Israel and has continued to work on issues regarding Israel and the Palestinians.”

“He is discussing the situation obviously with a number of people in the region and elsewhere to see what can be done. But there is no ‘role’ offered or taken.”

Blair remains a controversial figure in Britain because of his decision to take the UK to war in Iraq in 2003.

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Biden looks to CUT DOWN razor wire at Texas border helping to curb migrant crisis

The Biden Administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow Border Patrol agents to cut down razor wire installed on the US-Mexico border.

It comes after state officials won a court order that blocked agents from removing the wire installed in Texas.

However, on Tuesday, the Justice Department filed an emergency application, asking the Supreme Court to overturn that decision.

“Federal law unambiguously grants Border Patrol agents the authority, without a warrant, to access private land within 25 miles of the international border,” the department wrote in its appeal to the high court.

The razor wire had been installed in an effort to deter migrants from crossing a 29-mile stretch of the Rio Grande.

The move is the latest escalation in a rising conflict between President Joe Biden and Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott over border policies.

Last year, Texan Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Biden’s administration to stop the wire cutting, stating that it illegally destroys state property and undermines security.

The razor wire was laid down by state troopers and National Guardsmen deployed by the state, in an operation that has so far cost more than $11billion.

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Abbott has also authorised installing floating barriers in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass and allowed troopers to arrest migrants on trespassing charges.

Biden’s administration said the wire stops Border Patrol agents from reaching migrants as they cross the river.

However, Texas officials have argued that the administration has cut the wire in order to help people illegally cross the border.

Last month, the US Court of Appeals sided with Texas, which sued the Department of Homeland Security under state trespass laws for cutting through the wire.

They concluded that the Border Patrol couldn’t remove the wire while the litigation proceeds.

However, US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in court papers that state governments have no place to displace federal authority in Washington.

Abbott, in a post on social media, said: “Americans & courts will reject Biden’s hostility to immigration laws.”

He said the state would continue to deploy the National Guard “to build border barriers & repel illegal immigrants.”

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‘I’m terrified’ Bev Turner fears five more years of Khan after mayor’s ‘ego trip’

Bev Turner is fearful about the prospect of another five years with Sadiq Khan as the Mayor of London.

The GB News presenter spoke about this year’s London mayoral elections, saying Conservative candidate Susan Hall’s prospects are looking increasingly slim.

Turner expects Reform candidate Howard Cox to split the Tory vote, which could elevate Khan to another term in office.

She admitted to being “terrified” at the prospect of another five years of Sadiq Khan.

The comment came about during a discussion with former Labour MP Stephen Pound, who outlined why he feels a Tory victory is unlikely.

“Last time, Susan Hall might well have won because it was the transferable vote system”, he said.

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“We don’t have that any more now. I don’t think she can win at the present time.

“I do hope Sadiq Khan winds his neck in and becomes a bit more modest.”

Bev Turner waded in: “I’m terrified by another five years of him.”

Co-host Andrew Pierce questioned why there is no cap to the number of terms a London Mayor can serve.

Pound remarked that Donald Trump would “love” such a reality in the US, where presidents are bound to a maximum of two terms.

Turner spoke on Khan’s motoring measures in London, and how she expects it to be a “huge” issue at the election.

“You’re got Howard Cox standing for Reform as well”, she said.

“He will split the vote. As we saw in the Uxbridge by-election, the motorist issue is huge.

“He’s a brilliant candidate as well, the Conservatives would have loved Howard Cox to stand for them.”

It comes after the London mayor was accused of an “ego trip” after introducing London’s New Year’s Eve firework display.

The display, organised by Khan and themed to celebrate the capital’s diversity, began with a message that said: “The Mayor London presents”.

Susan Hall responded by telling the Telegraph: The New Year’s fireworks celebration belongs to the people, not Sadiq Khan.

“The only things he has presented in his eight years as mayor is soaring crime and an unfair Ulez expansion tax that targets the poorest.

“We cannot have another four years of this man and his ego making life worse for Londoners. In May, I will deliver a better and brighter future for our city.”

A spokesman for Khan said: “The Mayor is proud to have sent a message of unity, showing why London is the greatest city in the world.”

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Rwanda could take THIRTY THREE THOUSAND migrants deported from UK

Over 33,000 migrants could be deported to Rwanda from the UK, according to new Home Office figures released today.

Since July 2023, ministers have gained powers to detain any illegal migrants and deport them to a third safe country such as Rwanda.

Under Rishi Sunak’s “Stop the Boats” legislation, applications can be declared “inadmissible” and asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda.

However, flights are currently grounded after the Supreme Court ruled that the policy was unlawful.

The Prime Minister is hoping to secure the first flights to the third safe country in spring of this year.

He is currently facing opposition from across his party, which restricts the rights of migrants to challenge their deportation.

In December 2023, 37 Conservative MPs abstained from voting on the bill, including former Home Secretary Suella Braverman and former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick.

Yet, even if Sunak is able to get flights off the ground, the numbers of those deported would be small to begin with.

James Eadie, the Government’s lawyer, told judges at the Supreme Court it would be “limited” at the start.

Speaking of the five-year Rwanda agreement, Sir James said: “Both participants recognise the need for capacity building: the UK has provided funds for the same, the Rwandan authorities have taken measures in terms of recruitment and training, and the numbers are, initially, low.”

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The Refugee Council has calculated that Rwanda has the capacity to house no more than 10,000 a year.

Once the scheme gets off the ground, this would leave 25,000 asylum seekers a year left in limbo.

The Home Office figures were published following the department's claim that it had met its target of clearing a backlog of migrant claims.

In December 2022, Sunak pledged he would “abolish” the legacy backlog of migrant claims before the end of 2023.

Legacy cases refer only to people in the asylum system on 28 June 2022, the day when new asylum rules came into force.

The Government said that Sunak’s “commitment of clearing the legacy asylum backlog has been delivered”, having processed more than 112,000 claims overall this year.

However, 4,537 cases remain unprocessed, according to the Government’s official data.

Sunak’s spokesperson said that the all the cases have been reviewed, and the remaining ones simply “require additional work”.

The spokesperson said: “We committed to clearing the backlog, that is what the government has done. We are being very transparent about what that entails.

“We have processed all of those cases and indeed gone further than the original commitment. We're up to 112,000 decisions made overall.

“As a result of that process, there are a small minority of cases which are complex and which, because of our rigorous standards, require further work.

“But nonetheless, it is a significant piece of work by Home Office officials to process such huge numbers in a short period of time while retaining our rigorous safety standard.”

Home Secretary James Cleverly said that it was “impossible” to say how long it will take to get through outstanding asylum cases.

However, he added that the Government was improving the system by hiring “more people”, refining “processes” and implementing “real accountability”.

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Junior doctors start their longest strike in NHS history on Wednesday – but what do they want?

Junior doctors in England are due to walk out for six days, starting on Wednesday morning.

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Sir John Curtice issues devastating warning to Sunak that could see Tories obliterated

Rishi Sunak has been warned by Sir John Curtice he is losing votes to Reform just as much as he is losing votes to Labour.

The British political scientist has said that for every 2019 Tory voter now choosing Labour, “there is another one voter who now says they will vote for Reform."

It comes as Sir John said that latest opinion polls indicated that Reform is "already a problem" for Rishi Sunak.

Meanwhile, former Reform leader Nigel Farage said he is "enjoying life" but says he "got to decide … do I want to do [a return to active politics] again?"

Sir John told the BBC's World at One programme: "If the opinion polls are correct Reform are now already proving to be something of a problem for the Conservatives.

"If you actually look at the polls that were done in December and examine how people who voted for the Conservatives in 2019 what they now say they will do, for every one voter who now says they will vote for Labour, there is another one voter that now says they will vote Reform.

"In other words, the Conservatives are losing votes as heavily to Reform as they are to Labour.

"That is one of the problems that now faces Rishi Sunak as he tries to works out how to recover from the slew of electoral despond."

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Asked about Farage's potential impact on polling for Reform, Sir John said: "Certainly there's one opinion poll not so long ago that suggested that Reform may go up to about 14 per cent in the polls, they're currently on an average of about nine per cent.

"That still could mean that Reform would end up as Ukip did in 2015 without any MPs.

"But that would still add significantly to the Conservative's problems because Reform are attracting the voters and they are the foundation of the Conservative's success in 2019.

"Nigel Farage is a charismatic figure. Reform is not that well known although it is getting better known but with Nigel Farage at its head it would be much more of a challenge to the Conservatives than the not inconsiderable challenge that Reform are already posing.

Earlier in the show, Nigel Farage was asked about his chances of returning to frontline politics.

Farage said: "I think the level of distrust amongst traditional Conservative voters is at a level not seen in modern times.

"I am pretty busy with broadcasting and GB News and popping into the jungle and enjoying life in general.

"I haven't yet decided whether I'm going to play an active role in this or not."

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Nigel Farage issues severe warning to Rishi Sunak as major Tory problem hits level 'not seen in modern times'

Nigel Farage has issued a severe warning to Rishi Sunak as the former Brexit Party leader claimed distrust among traditional Tory voters has reached a level "not seen in modern times".

Farage, 59, argued the Prime Minister's failure to deal with "eye-watering" levels of migration was ensuring the Conservative Party continues to lose the confidence of its base.

The former Brexit Party leader, who posed electoral challenges to both David Cameron and Theresa May, called out Home Secretary James Cleverly for hailing this Christmas as the first in five years without any Channel migrant crossings.

Farage labelled Cleverly a "moron" and claimed the Braintree MP was “either pig ignorant or just an outright charlatan”.

There has been growing speculation about whether Farage could rejoin the Tory Party under a different leader.

However, Farage is still "bruised" by the 2015 election when Ukip won just one seat with 12.6 per cent of the vote.

He told the BBC: "The level of distrust amongst traditional Conservative voters is at a level we’ve not seen in modern times."

Farage added: "I’m still bruised by the 2015 general election, which I fought very hard for four million votes and one seat. I’m going to think very hard before I take on that system again."

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Despite disappointment in 2015, Farage broke electoral history with his victories in the EU Parliament Elections of 2014 and 2019.

Ukip also managed to win two by-elections in Clacton and Rochester & Strood.

Reform UK, which emerged from the embers of the Brexit Party, is gaining significant ground due to dissatisfaction with the Tory Party.

An opinion poll conducted by People Polling for GB News put Reform on 10 per cent, with Labour opening up a 22-point lead over the Tories.

The three most important issues in voters' minds ahead of the general election are the economy, immigraton and health.

However, immigration is an even more salient issue with Conservative voters and Brexit backers.

Sunak is struggling to deal with illegal immigration as a number of legal challenges threaten to torpedo his pledge to stop the boats.

But net migration also soared to a record 745,000 in 2022.

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Sunak's claim to have cleared asylum backlog branded 'misleading'

The government is claiming victory in clearing the backlog of asylum claims - but that has been described as "misleading" as thousands are still waiting for a final decision.

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The election year dawns - and small boats are a key battle line

Rishi Sunak himself declared that 2024 will be an election year - at the least discreet location possible: a Christmas party for political journalists.

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Michelle Mone's husband says family 'treated as punchbag' in row over PPE

Baroness Michelle Mone’s husband has hit out at the government and said his family has been “treated as a punchbag” in a row over personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement during the pandemic.

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Three key issues that could be fatal for Starmer in 2024 - analysis by Olivia Utley

Conventional wisdom is that the 2024 General Election is Labour’s for the taking. But with months still to go before the country goes to polls, Keir Starmer’s road to victory may not be quite as smooth as it first appears.

In no particular order, here are the three biggest hurdles I see in store for the Labour leader in 2024:

1. Party unity

When Keir Starmer took office back in April 2020 he inherited a hideously divided party. In 2015 entryists to Labour had voted in Jeremy Corbyn as leader, who in turn had filled both his shadow cabinet and the machinery of the Labour Party headquarters with far-left politicians and activists. In response, a sizable handful of Labour MPs had quit the politics altogether in horror at the antisemitism exhibited by their colleagues.

Keir Starmer can rightly be proud of the work he has done in the years since, painstakingly putting his party back together. Jeremy Corbyn was swiftly expelled, as was his comrade Diane Abbott. The front bench was purged of the left and filled with moderates in Starmer’s own image.

But the divisions, though plastered over, are very much still there. Labour activists, who are, on the whole, more left-wing than the parliamentary party are not too enamoured with Starmer – and there are plenty of Corbynite MPs who are nodding along with their leader for now, but will be only too happy to stick the knife in if Starmer puts as much as a foot wrong during the General Election campaign.

Compounding the problem, it is Westminster’s worst kept secret that Starmer and his deputy, the fiery Angela Rayner, have a less-than-perfect relationship – and many MPs believe that she is temperamentally better suited to the role of leader than Starmer, who is considered rather beige. She too is keeping her counsel for now, but can the Labour leader count on her loyal and unflinching support through what is set to be a long and tetchy campaign?

2. Scotland

Labour winning a convincing victory is predicated on the SNP imploding in Scotland. In 2010, Labour held 41 of Scotland’s 59 seats, but in the intervening elections, it lost all but one to the SNP. With the Nationalists down on their knees in recent months, one would expect Starmer to be sitting pretty north of the border. But that’s not necessarily the case.

In fact, now the dust has settled on the Sturgeon affair, the SNP’s poll ratings are rising while Labour’s tumble. Why? One theory is that Scottish voters, who tend to sway more to the left than their English counterparts, mistrust Starmer’s centrism – in particular his close association with Tony Blair. Another is that Scotland’s 200,000-strong North Sea Oil workforce is spooked by Starmer’s pledge that his Labour Government would end North Sea Oil exploration.

What’s more, time and again the SNP has shown that it has a phoenix-like ability to rise from the ashes. Its record in Scotland – on schools, on the drug crisis, on emissions – has been patchy, to put it mildly. But when it comes to an election, Scottish voters have repeatedly shown themselves willing to forgive and forget. The SNP might be mired in controversy now, but history suggests that writing off the party is a fool’s errand.

Whichever way you look at it, Starmer has an uphill battle ahead north of the border.

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3. Electoral mathematics

Riven with infighting, the Tories may not often behave like a Party with a huge majority. But we would be wrong to forget it. In order to win the next General Election outright, Labour doesn’t just have to do well – it has to do extraordinarily well. In numbers: they must recover from their biggest defeat in over 80 years to make 124 gains, something they've only ever done three times before in history. Or, put another way, they would need a bigger swing than Tony Blair enjoyed during his 1997 landslide victory.

The catastrophic results for the Tories in by-elections this year prove that it’s a feasible goal, but it’s by no means a given. And it could turn out that Labour’s support – though miles wide – is only inches deep. In the Uxbridge by-election back in July the Tories managed to cling on to the seat by turning the vote into a referendum on Ulez. If a local issue which only affected 10% of drivers was enough to stop the red tide in London, is it really safe to assume that Starmer will be carried into Number 10 on a wave of unstoppable enthusiasm?

All that said, if I were a betting woman, my money would be on a Labour majority. But, as Westminster watchers know only too well, election season can be full of surprises…

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